Arkansas weekly cattle auction summary

The Arkansas weekly livestock auction summary indicated receipts of 6,284 head of cattle selling the week ending on Oct. 22, compared to 6,143 head the previous week and 9,618 head a year ago, according to the USDA-Arkansas Department of Agriculture Market News, Little Rock, Arkansas.

The total included 4,835 head of feeder cattle, 1,063 head of slaughter cattle and 386 head of replacement cattle compared to a week ago’s total of 6,143 head of feeder cattle, 895 head of slaughter cattle and 394 head of replacement cattle. A year ago the total was 8,131 head of feeder cattle, 1,018 head of slaughter cattle and 470 head of replacement cattle. Compared to the close the previous week, the feeder and stocker steers were mostly selling $5 to $10 lower with instances of $10 to $15 lower. The feeder and stockers heifers were mostly sold steady to $6 lower with instances of $10 to $12 lower. There were numerous offerings of non-weaned and fleshy new crop calves selling at a discount, which lowered the market. The demand for non-weaned and fleshy calves was mostly light to moderate at best. The slaughter cows were steady to $1 higher. The slaughter bulls were mostly steady to $1 lower. The supply included 77% feeder cattle with 29% steers, 0% were dairy steers, 40% were heifers and 31% were bulls; 17% was slaughter cattle with 87% cows and 13% were bulls; and 6% was replacement cattle with 16% stock cows, 59% were bred cows, 9% were bred heifers, 15% were cow-calf pairs and 2% were bulls. The feeder cattle supply weighing over 600 pounds was 19%.